Life-raft.



No. 696,463. Patented Apr. I, |902.

D. G. MARTENS.

LIFE RAFT.

(Application led Apr. 27, 1901.) (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sweet I.

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No. 696,463. i Patented Apr. l, |9o2 n. 6. MARTENS.

LIFE RAFT.

'(Appxicatin mea Apr. 2v, 1961.) (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

No. 696,463. Patented Apr.v l, |902. D. G. MARTENS.

LIFE RAFT.

(Application led Apr. 27, 1901.) (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

Unrrnn Samaras Farnivr Ormea DANIEL GEORGE MARTENS, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

LlFE-RAFT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 696,463,

' Application filed April 27, 1901.

Beit known that I, DANIEL GEORGE MAR TENS, engineer, a subject of the King of Sweden and Norway, residing at l2 Montague Place, Russell Square,London,England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements Relating to the Construction of Ships and Vessels and to Means for Saving Life at Sea, of which the followingis a specification.

The object of this invention is so to construct ships and vessels' that a part or parts of the same can be used for savinglife at sea when desired.

The invention is specially adapted for passenger-carrying steamships, but is applicable to all forms of vessels having deck-houses and promenade-decks.

In carrying out my invention I make the promenade-deck of the ship or vessel in a suitable number of doa-table sections or rafts and provide means for launching same into the sea over the sides of the vessel.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure l is a transverse sectional elevation of a ship or vessel with my invention tted thereto, the normal position of the raft being shown in full lines and the launching position in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a part side and partseetional elevation of same, showing the means for supporting and for launching the raft. Fig. 3 is a sectional side elevation of the raft as it would appear when launched. Fig. 4c is an enlarged detail view of the meehanism for lifting the raft previous to launching same, and Figs. 5 and G are respectively enlarged sectional side and front elevations of the raft-locking mechanism.

The same letters of reference Where they occur are used to denote the same or corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

Each iloatable section or raft is dat on top, as shown at A in Fig. 3, and boarded or otherwise iitted to form a section of an ordinary promenade-deck, and at the under side it is provided with a number of parallel chambers B. These chambers are preferably constructed by means of curved plates O, which are secured together and to partitions 'c in such a way as to produce a corrugated bottom such that damage to one corrugation will not affect dated April 1, 1902.

Serial No. 57,695. (No model.)

the others. The chambers B are lled with inflated bladders,and canvas is glued to the steel plates inside, so as to prevent water from filling the space in the chambers B if the steel plates be broken. The raft is longitudinally divided into separate water-tight compartments, and on the deck is a watertight hatch D, intended as a receptacle for provisions and formed externally as a deckseat.

E is an ordinary hand-rail.

Under the deck A and on the outside the raft is tted with masts F, which can be readily got at when the raft is launched, means being provided to tit the masts in position on the raft.

The raft is fitted on the top of the deckhouse G and is kept in its position thereon by means of any suitable number of rods H, passing through suitable bearings or brackets J, securedto the sides or top of thedeckhouse G, said rods H being externally screwthreaded at their upper ends to engage nuts K, fast on the underside of the raft between adjacent corrugations. (See Figs. 5 and 6.)

Pivoted on or to each side of the deck-house G is a raising-lever L, (see Fig. 4,) carrying a friction-roller Z on the inner extremity. Any suitable number of these raising-levers may be tted on or to the deck-house and on both sides thereof. Three are shown in Fig. 2; but the lugs g, to which they are pivoted,

are so located on the deck-house that the rollers Z engage in the depression between adjacent corrugations, as shown in Fig. 2. When these levers L are in the horizontal position, (shown by the full lines in Figs. l and 4,) the raft is seated upon the roof of the deckhouse G; but when said levers are turned to the vertical position (shown by the dotted lines in the same figures) the rollers Z are raised, thereby raising the raft above the root` of the deck-house G, so that the whole weight of the raft is then carried by these rollers Z. Consequently the raft can be launched with little friction-to either side of the ship or vessel.

The ends ofthe raft are supported on swinging stanchions M, pivoted on a horizontal pin m, secured to a vertical pivot on the rail n or other fixed part of the ship or vessel N, (see Figsrl and 2,) so as to allow the stanchion IOO to swing vertically and horizontally. These swinging stanehions M are kept in the vertical position (shown in the full lines in Fig. l) by means of powerful springs m', connected to the deck of the Vessel N and by means of cords or other readily separable or readily releasable flexible connections m2, one end of which is secured to the stanchion IWI and the other end to the raising-lever L, when the latter is in the horizontal position. Each stanchion is also separately connected to the deck-house by another ilexible connection. Each swinging stanchion M is provided with three friction-rollers, a small roller m3 at its outer extremity to hold the raft in proper position when on the deck-house and to guide the stanchion as the raft swings down, and two larger rollers m4, located in such positions that when the swinging stanchion turns on its pivot m into the position shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1 these larger rollers m4 will enter a groove or depression in the corrugated bottom of the raft and provide an antifrictionslipway for the launching of the raft. These larger rollers lmlare preferably mounted loose on a spindle m6 (see Fig. 2) and are kept central thereon by strong spiral springs mi', so that if the raft be launched at an angle to the ships side toward the bow or the stern these springs m5 will allow the rollers fm" to accommodate themselves to this angular movement.

The launching of the raft is effected as follows: The holding-down screwed rods H are first released from the nuts K, fixed on the under side of the raft. The cords fm2, connecting the raising-levers L to the stanehions M,

are then out on both sides, and the `flexible connection between the deck-house and the stanchion is then cut on the side to which the raft is to be launched. The raisinglevers L on both sides of the deck-house G are then turned downward into the dotted position, (shown in Fig. 4,) thereby raising and supporting the raft clear of the deck-house. The raft can then be launched either by the movement of the ship or by end pressure, thereby permitting the swinging stanchions M to turn vertically on their centers m and m3 and take up the inclined position. (Shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1.)

The raft is tted with sails, oars, rudder,

and other conveniences, preferably secured by readily-detachable means on or to the sides or under side of the raft, so as to be out of the way on the deck, and the central chambers B are preferably arranged to carry freshwater tanks.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

In a ship or vessel fitted with detachable floatable sections or rafts resting on the deck house or houses, means for launching the rafts, comprising raising-levers pivoted to the deck house or houses and adapted when turned to raise and support the raft above the roof of the deck house or houses, and swinging stanehions pivoted to and turning on the taffrail or other fixed part of the vessel and carrying rollers on their extremities, said stanehions being normally held upright by powerful springs and maintained in that position by a cord or the like detachable means, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set myhand, in presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 2d day of April, 1901.

DANIEL GEORGE MARTENS.

)Vitnessesz G. D. NEVILLE, WALTER J. SKERTEN. 

